Meet Quimera; and the choreographer behind the show
Newburytoday spoke to the executive director of Nua Dance, as her new show rolled into the Corn Exchange
An unusual multidisciplinary performance, bringing together dance, circus and theatre artists, comes to the Corn Exchange on Tuesday (February 25): Meet Quimera, a retiree who wants to change the world... emerging from her tiny room into a fantastical landscape that inadvertently leads her to becoming a hero.
With bold contemporary dance, German wheel, acrobatics and stunning aerial circus, choreographer Neus Gil Cortés blends darkly funny performance with quirky and extreme physicality.
Nua Dance’s newest and most ambitious work to date is inspired by Cervantes’ Don Quixote and features a five-person intergenerational ensemble of circus and dance artists, led by Royal Opera House associate artist Sarah Dowling.
Nua Dance's artistic director, Neus Gil Cortes, spoke to newburytoday ahead of her company's visit to the town.
Neus, who started dancing at the age of six-years in Spain, began choreographing professionally in 2015.
That year she spent her time doing a lot of festivals for emerging choreographers and enjoyed great reviews.
This gave her the confidence to set up her own dance company, combining dance and circus.
“I wanted to my work to be moving and enjoyed by people who wouldn’t normally go to a dance show,” she said. “My shows are full of concepts and stories that provoke some thought, which is really important to me.
“The stories are things that are important for me and I hope to other people too.
“One of the best compliments I have had was from a scientist, who had never seen a dance show before, and she said that in the piece she saw how she felt.”
Neus said she also incorporates elements of circus, after seeing a Swedish Circus company perform.
The 36-year-old, who danced professionally for ten years before switching to choreography, now has a two-month-old son and said that she hopes to begin organising shows that have been inspired by motherhood.
But for now her attention is on tomorrow’s performance of Quimera, at the Corn Exchange in Newbury.
For tickets or more details visit www.cornexchangenew.com
To hear from some of the stars of the show, click on the video links below.